611.0031/431
The Secretary of State to the Secretary of Commerce (Roper)1
Dear Mr. Roper: Shortly before March fourth, at my request, one of the officials of this Department invited representatives of the Department of Commerce, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of Labor, and the United States Tariff Commission, to meet here for the purpose of initiating plans and action looking toward negotiations with other countries for agreements reciprocally reducing customs barriers.
The group held a meeting on February 27,2 attended by representatives of all of the above-mentioned branches of the Government except the Department of Labor, and a sub-group met on March 3. These meetings fulfilled their task of beginning the work assigned to them. Indeed, I am informed that most of the individuals participating in the meetings had for some time been giving attention to these matters.
I should now like to reconstitute the group as an Inter-Departmental Committee and, if you and the others whom I am addressing on the subject, are disposed to give approval, I shall be grateful if you will designate such members of your staff as you may wish to be members. I shall instruct one of the representatives of the Department of State to call the Committee together in the near future to continue its work.
Sincerely yours,
Under Secretary
- The same letter was sent on March 9 to the Secretaries of Labor, Agriculture, and Treasury, and to the Chairman of the United States Tariff Commission.↩
- Present at this meeting were: Department of State—Wallace McClure, Chairman; Herbert Feis, Economic Adviser; Frederick Livesey, Assistant Economic Adviser; Henry L. Deimel, Jr., Division of Near Eastern Affairs; Harry C. Hawkins, of the Treaty Division; Treasury Department—J. D. Nevius; Department of Agriculture—Nils a. Olsen; L. R. Edminster; Department of Commerce—John Matthews, Jr.; Louis Domeratzky; United States Tariff Commission—E. Dana Durand; Benjamin B. Wallace.↩